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Description
A three-quarter-length portrait slightly to left, head turned to right. Ross looks towards the right and directs his gaze out of the picture space. Although the insignia on the epaulettes is obscured so that his rank is not clear, he is probably wearing the uniform of a newly promoted commander. Draped over his left shoulder he wears a bear's skin. In his right hand he holds a sheathed sword by its scabbard across his front. The Pole Star shines in the sky top right and in the lower right corner of the painting a magnetic dip-circle sits on a table. Most of the background is either dark sky or the inhospitable rocky terrain of the Canadian Arctic.
This highly romanticized portrayal marks Ross's return from an expedition there in 1829-33. During this voyage, he and his uncle, Sir John Ross, discovered the north magnetic pole, at that time located west of the Boothia Peninsula. In 1839-43, Ross commanded the 'Erebus' and 'Terror' on one of the earliest Antarctic expeditions and was knighted on his return. The artist has paid considerable attention to detail and concentrated on the luxurious tactile quality of the fur and uniform. He has intentionally highlighted the gold on Ross's braid, the ring on his finger, the brilliance of the star, the gleaming dip-circle, and the tassels, buttons, epaulettes and sword. He has foregrounded the texture of the fur in contrast to the black sky and icy background. Man has tamed nature, symbolized by the bearskin and scientific instrument.
The artist was born in Hackney and set up in practice as a portrait painter in London. He exhibited at the Royal Academy, 1823-39. This portrait was exhibited at the (Royal) Society of British Artists in 1834 as 'Commander James Clark Ross, R.N., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., F.L.S., etc., Discoverer of the North Pole'. The Museum also has copies of the mezzotint made from it by R. M. Hodgetts and published by Colnaghi in 1835. The painting is signed 'J R Wildman'.
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See also
Essay: Portraits in oil at the National Maritime Museum
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